01 October - Balanced Collage

In this lesson, students will produce a collage using a visually balanced composition.

Supplies:

12 x 18" construction paper in various colors, scissors, glue, 6 x 9" construction paper in various colors, paper scraps (optional), crayons / oil pastels (optional)

Instruction:

Explain visual balance = visual balance can be seen but not measured on a scale. It is measured by which object your eye sees first. Differences in color, shape and contour affect visual weight. Bright colors have more visual weight than dull colors. Large shapes have more visual shapes than small shapes. A busy contour, or border, has more visual weight than a smooth contour.

1. Have students choose 2 pieces of construction paper one big one small - in two different colors.

2. Ask them to hold their smaller paper horizontally. Starting at the bottom of the piece, demonstrate how to cut an interesting abstract shape, eventually returning to the bottom of the piece. This should result in a "cutout" (or "positive") shape, and a "leftover" (or "negative") shape, both of which are in one piece.

3. Have students glue one of their negative shapes in a top corner of their background paper, lining up the edges neatly.

4. Ask them to reposition the positive shape within the negative shape ("fit it together like a puzzle"), then FLIP the positive shape down beneath the negative one and glue it into place, creating a mirror-image effect. (This is easier shown than explained, so try it first!)

5. Students are now free to add other shapes, particularly ones which repeat. I take this time to discuss how repeated shapes help "pull the picture together", or unify it. Students can use small repeating shapes to create a pathway for our eyes.

6. Students may wish to find recognizable objects within their pictures and continue along that theme, or they may wish to keep it nonobjective. I allow both as long as they are "not exactly like real life" (you may wish to discuss the difference between abstraction and nonobjective in-depth with older students).

7. Monitor to ensure that students are creating visually balanced compositions; some get carried away!

8. Towards the end of this project, I allow students to use my paper-scrap box for additional pieces, and crayons for lines.

Closure: Review key terms and concepts. Students can classify each other's work as abstract or nonobjective; tell the class how they used patterns to unify their collage. Display some pictures, as they will get many compliments!

02 November - Portraits

4th Grade

Drawing the face 

This is part 1 of a two part lesson. 

Objectives: -to learn the proper proportions of the human face

Materials: 9x12 white drawing paper 

Scrap paper

rulers-1 per student or pair of students 

Procedure: 

– Explain that you will be learning how to draw the proper proportions of

the adult human face. Emphasize that artwork is personal and that they may draw a face however they like, but it's also important to know the technically correct proportions

– show a variety of portraits and discuss what they see 

Eyes

– demonstrate step by step process of drawing an eye- see attached instructions 

- have student practice 

Nose

– demonstrate step by step process of drawing a nose- see attached instructions 

- have student practice 

Mouth

– demonstrate step by step process of drawing a mouth- see attached instructions 

- have student practice 

Face

– demonstrate step by step process of drawing a face- see attached instructions 

Expressions

- discuss adding expressions

Have students draw 4 faces. Preferably with 4 different expressions. They should use light sketchy lines for the guide line and erase them when they are finished. 

03 December - Color Schemes

Objectives:

-introduction students to general concept of color schemes

- learn the definition of monochromatic, triadic, complimentary and analogous color schemes and learn their effects.

Materials: original and copies of portraits created during the last lesson oil pastels

Procedure:

- Ask if anyone know what a scheme is. - a plot or a plan. A color scheme is a plan of colors that an artist intends to use in an artwork. Ask students if they decide on a plan of colors before they draw or if they decide as they go along. Tell them that artists do both. They might choose colors for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they want to tie everything together. Maybe they want to attract attention. Maybe the colors are natural to their subjects. Certain color combinations work well together and have been used by artists through the centuries.

- If possible look at examples of art works with different color schemes. Introduce the name of the color schemes and talk about the effect it creates. Monochromatic: Paintings can be unified by the use of a single color. Victor Vasarely, Cheyt M; Saiki Hoitsu, Cranes; Yoruba Peoples, Adire Cloth Complementary: Artists might use complementary colors if they want to attract attention or make a picture glow or pop. Examples: Jan Van Eyck Arnolfini and his Bride, Frank Benson, Sunlight

Triadic: Artist might choose a triadic color scheme when they want a lot of contrast without the vibrating effect of opposites. Examples: Roy Lichtenstein, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet’s Villas a Bordighera Analogous: Artists can use analogous color schemes to unify their works. This is not quite as restricting as monocromatic. Examples: Van Gogh, Wheat Field with Cyprus Trees, Still Life Vase with 15 sunflowers, Starry Night,

Monochromatic: - begin by writing the word on the board. Discuss what mono means- one: monopoly, monocle, monotheism, monotone, monologueChroma- greek word for color. So how many colors are in a monochromatic color scheme? One! But we aren’t going to paint the whole page one color. We can add black and white (review tints and shades) - Now students choose a color and using black and white create tints and shades color in one of the self portraits.

– tell students that to add interest, the may add a pattern to the background, color some areas lightly and others with more pressure

Complimentary colors – Introduce topic of complimentary colors

-explain that they are opposite each other on the color wheel – have students identify pairs of complimentary colors on color wheel – explain how putting complimentary colors together makes them pop, and that when you mix complementary colors together you get gray – tell them they are to color in their face using one pair of complimentary colors, but they might also layer them with black or white to make a variety of tints and shades – remind them that to add interest, the may add a pattern to the background, color some areas lightly and others with more pressure

Triadic Color Scheme - begin by writing the word on the board. Discuss what tri means- three: tricycle, triangle, triceratops, triplets... Chroma- greek word for color. So how many colors are in a monochromatic color scheme? three -ask if any one can think of a group of three special colors - primaries. Ask if they can think of another group- secondary. - show students how the primary colors form a triangle on the color wheel - if there are 18 colors on a color wheel, all triadic color combinations are 6 colors apart. students can choose any color, count off 6 on the color wheel and then count off 6 again - those three colors are his/her triadic color scheme

Analogous -colors next to each other on the color wheel, stopping when the color is the opposite of the color we started with. Example: if we start with red and go through violet-red, red-violet, violet, blue-violet, violet-blue and blue but we

must stop there, because the next color has green in it and green is the opposite of red. An 18 color wheel will have 7 analogous colors.

– wrap up discussion – clean up

04 January - Contour Drawing

materials:

drawing paper

pencil or pen

interesting objects to draw

a paper plate over each pencil so students can't peak at their drawings

sharpie

colored markers

This lesson is all about getting kids to really look at objects they are drawing. Remember! No peeking!

Process: 1. Explain contour - outline, contour lines - Contour lines show the edges and outlines of shapes, and contour line drawing - When you make a contour drawing you draw only the edges or outlines of the shapes you see. There is no shading.

Discuss blind contour drawing - A blind contour is drawn the same way as a contour drawing except you do not look at your drawing--you only look at the object. Blind contour drawings are practice drawings made up entirely of lines. They are called blind contour drawings because you can't look at your drawing until you are done! Blind contour drawings will help you train your eyes to see the shapes and edges as you draw. Your hand will record every detail slowly and accurately. They might look a little strange but they are not scribbles or even gesture drawings!

2. Have students choose an interesting object to draw. Objects with lots of edges, wrinkles, or other details are the most fun. Students can draw their shoes.

3. Place your pencil (with the paper plate so you canʼt peak) on your paper. Be sure your starting point gives you enough room so you don't draw off the edge of the paper.

4. Study the object and draw very slowly. DON'T PEEK at your drawing! You are training your eyes to see the details and your hand to record every detail. DO NOT LIFT your pencil or pen. Keep the tip on the paper at all times to draw a continuous line. Sometimes you may need to drag your pencil or pen to get to a new shape.

5. Now look at your drawing. Can you see the details of your object? Try drawing several more blind contours of the same object.

6. Then draw a contour drawing (looking at your drawing as you work) of the same object. You can use sharpie for this step. You should see a big difference in how your contour drawings look if you warm up with a few blind contour drawings first! You can color in areas with colored marker.

March - Animal Habitat Print - 4th

Materials:

Styrofoam plates

brayers

pencils

ink

paper plate

Plexiglas

markers

Oil Pastels

Objective:
- reinforce printmaking process and technique
- reinforce concept of figure ground and how to create illusion of depth in 2 dimensional artworks
- reinforce understanding  of cross- curriculum concept of habitat

Process: 
You have several options for the logistical set up this lesson. One option is to have all the students draw their animals onto the styrofoam sheets in the classroom. When they are finished they move to the art room where they print and then finally work on the background. Another option is to have half the tables set up for printing. The other half for drawing the background. Have all students work on their foam sheet animals first. Then have them do whatever their table is set up to do. Later, have the students switch tables to do the other part of the lesson.

1. Explain printmaking and the printmaking process. Here is some background information on printmaking. You won't want to discuss all of this, though:

Fine art printmaking involves the creation of a master plate from which multiple images are made. Simply put, the artist chooses a surface to be the plate. This could be linoleum, styrofoam, metal, cardboard, stone or any one of a number of materials. Then the artist prepares the printing plate by cutting, etching or drawing an image onto the plate. Ink is applied (in a variety of ways) and paper is pressed onto the plate either by hand or by way of a hand-run printing press. The finished print is pulled from the plate.

Often the first three or four prints of are different than the rest of the edition. These first prints are called artist's proofs. The number of prints pulled from one plate is called an edition. Once a certain number of prints are pulled, the plate is destroyed so that more prints won't be printed later, thus ensuring the value of the edition. At the bottom of a print are two to three things always written in pencil. On the left is a number that appears as a fraction (e.g. 6/25), this means that the print is number six of a total of twenty five prints pulled from one plate. This number excludes the artist proofs which are designated with an A/P. In the centre of the bottom of the print is the title (if any). At the bottom right, is the artist's name and sometimes a date.

There are four main types of printmaking. The process and materials of these techniques influence the appearance of the final print...

FOUR MAIN TYPES OF PRINTMAKING

Relief Printing

This is printing from a raised surface. A simple example of relief printing is a rubber stamp pressed into a stamp pad and pressed onto a piece of paper. Relief printing plates are made from flat sheets of material such as wood, linoleum, metal, styrofoam etc. After drawing a picture on the surface, the artist uses tools to cut away the areas that will not print. A roller - called a brayer - is used to spread ink on the plate. A sheet of paper is placed on top of the plate and the image is transferred by rubbing with the hand or a block of wood, or by being run through a printing press. The completed print is a mirror image of the original plate.

Woodcut - Historical uses: Textiles and other decorative purposes, playing cards, calendars and book illustrations.

Woodcut - Artists worth studying: Holbein the Younger, Fred Hagen, Vincent Van Gogh, James Whistler, any Japanese printmaker

Intaglio

This describes prints that are made by cutting the picture into the surface of the printing plate. Using a sharp V-shaped tool - called a burin - the printmaker gouges the lines of an image into the surface of a smooth polished sheet of metal or in some cases a piece of plexiglass. To make a print, ink is pushed into the lines of the design. The surface is then wiped clean so that the only areas with ink are the lines. A sheet of paper which has been soaked in water is then placed on the plate which is run through a printing press. The paper is literally forced into the small lines that have been cut into the plate. A variation of this technique is known as etching. With etching, acids are used to eat into the metal plate. Artists worth studying: Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Thomas Gainsborough, Rembrandt van Ryn, Albrecht Durer

Planography (Lithography)

As we have just learned, relief prints are created from a raised surface, and intaglio prints are created from a cut surface. Planography however, is the printing of a flat surface. Lithography is the art of printing from a flat stone (limestone) or metal plate by a method based on the simple fact that grease attracts grease as it repels water. A design or image is drawn on the surface with a greasy material - grease crayon, pencil or ink - and then water and printing ink are applied. The greasy parts absorb the ink and the wet parts do not. Acids are often used with this type of printmaking to etch the stone and prevent grease from traveling where it should not. For example, if a finger is placed on the surface, enough grease is transferred and as such, the fingerprint will attract the ink. Unfortunately, lithography is a printing process which requires the use of proper facilities and materials. However, showing your students examples of lithography will help them to appreciate the fine art of printmaking even more.

History and uses: Lithography was invented in 1798. Its main advantage is the great number of prints that can be pulled.

Artists worth studying: Eugene Delacroix, Edouard Manet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edvard Munch

Stencil : Serigraphy

A stencil is a sheet of paper, fabric, plastic, metal or other material with designs cut, perforated or punched from it. Ink is forced through the openings onto the surface (paper, fabric etc.) to be printed. Sometimes called silk screening, serigraphy (seri means silk) is a type of stencil printing. A stencil is fastened to a sheet of silk which is tightly stretched across a wooden frame. Or, an area of the silk is "blocked out" using glue, gum arabic or shellac. The frame is placed against the material to be printed.

background.

2. Explain lesson. Students will be making a print of an animal and then drawing the animals habitat as a background for the printed image. Have students think about which animal they would like to create and think about its habitat.

3. Have students draw the animal on a piece of foam, making sure the lines are deep.

4. Cut out around the shape of the animal.

5. Put a spoon full of block printing ink on each paper plate and spread with roller

6. Put foam sheet on scrap paper and roll over surface of foam sheet 
7. Put ink side down onto construction paper and press down, being careful not to move foam sheet. 
8. Peel off sheet carefully and reveal the print.

9. let print dry

10. Draw the background image (the animals habitat) with oil pastels 
11. When the animal prints are dry, students can mount them to the background prints using the foam stickers.

February - Recycled Sculpture - 4th grade

Description: Students will use recycled materials to create a sculpture using additive and subtractive processes.

Materials:

Recycled materials you can cut easily with scissors - toilet paper rolls, paper, magazines, milk containers, school lunch tray etc. yarn twine scissors plastic knives masking tape/duct tape

Optional images: Paper Pulp Panel by Andrea Zittel, Landfill by Mark Dion (Ask students: what images do you see? Do you think recycling is important to the artist?)

1. Explain to students that they will be creating a sculpture using recycled materials. Discuss and give examples of the additive and subtractive processes when sculpting. Sawing and removing a piece of Styrofoam with a plastic knife is an example of the subtractive process. Joining two paper towel rolls together is an example of the additive process.

Ask the students to think how their sculptures will inform others about the importance of recycling. (How will your choice of materials express your message about reusing and recycling? What story will you tell through your artwork?)

2. Give students 30 minutes to create their sculptures.

3. Once the students have finished, ask for volunteers to give a short presentation explaining the materials used and how this piece of artwork can be used to tell others about the importance of recycling.

08 April - Depth and Value in Overlapping Objects - 4th grade

Description:

To draw and color in with pastels a still life in which the objects are overlapped to show depth and colored to show changes in value.

Supplies:

One 12x18-inch piece of black drawing paper per student

Pencils and erasers (for light sketching of still life objects)

Oil pastels

Fruit, such as a large apple or grapefruit, a lemon or lime, large squash, and an object such as a vase or bowl.

Pre-Class Prep:

Set-up: Make a still life arrangement at each table

• Have pastels,paper,rulers and pencils ready for distribution.

Depth and Value

1. Talk about depth and value. Depth refers to the amount of “distance” projected by a composition. Ask them if they can think of ways to arrange objects in a painting to achieve a feeling of depth? (Foreground, Middle ground, Background) By overlapping objects within a composition, an artist can create the illusion of depth.Overlapping is a technique used to get some depth in a composition.

Value refers to how dark or light something is. Warmer lighter values are shown on a object where the light is hitting it; as you move across the object it gets darker and cooler as you move to the shadow cast by the object. It is the change in the value of the colors applied to an object that make it seem real and appear more realistic or 3-dimensional.

Process: Drawing the Still Life Explain that they will draw the composition they see on their tables on the black paper using their pencils (remind them to draw lightly-they will be going over the drawing with pastels.). Before they begin to draw, they need to know:

1. Draw BIG Shapes – fill the paper with their drawing! No tiny fruit and veggies in the centerof the paper.

2. Overlap each object – Each object should overlap the one behind it. When they begin drawing they should start with the object that is closest to them, because you will see all of its edges. Then add the one just behind it.

3. Put in a horizon line – Now that their objects are on their papers, have them place a line just behind them to suggest the edge of the table in the distance.

Painting the still life with Pastels

1. Students need to decide which side the light will be coming from in their drawings (right or left). Tell them that where the light hits the objects most directly, there will be what is called a “highlight” or very light spot that may even look white Have them lightly pencil small (penny size) circles on each of their three objects where they think the highlights should be.

2. Students can start painting with the pastels. They want to achieve a change in the VALUE of the coloring across each object that clearly shows that they have light sides and dark sides (the side the light is coming from is colored lighter - the other side is colored darker.

For the lighter side students can add white For the darker side of their object can even have some of the dark paper show through. Or the students can use color compliments. For example, if they have a lemon in their composition, urge them to use white and yellow on the light side and purple (yellow’s color compliment) on the shadow side. If they want to color their pumpkin or butternut squash orange, have them make the shadow side dark blue. If they have a red apple the shadow side would have green, etc.

Notes on using pastels - The more pastel they layer over the black paper, the more bright color they will get. - If they want the color to be smoothed together, they can rub gently with their finger to blend. - Have students start coloring their objects beginning with the one in back first. By working from the top down, they will avoid smearing their work in the foreground.

09 May - Weaving - 4th grade

Objectives:

to reinforce familiarity with weaving processes to gain experience in working creatively with a variety of tactile materials

materials:

cardboard looms

plastic needles or craft sticks

feathers

yarn

raffia

small sticks or branches

any other fiber or natural items you wish to incorporate

procedure:

-Present brief history of weaving: Weaving has its roots in basket making, and is a skill that was mastered a very long time ago. Man had learned to weave as early as the New Stone Age. From the fibers of the flax plant, he had learned to weave linen cloth. Archaeologists discovered an image of a loom on a pottery dish that dates from 4400 B.C. It was found in an Egyptian tomb. As long ago as 1766 B.C. the Chinese developed a complicated loom for weaving silk. About the same time, the people of India discovered how to make cloth from the fibers of the cotton plant. As soon as people discovered how to create fabric, they figured out ways to cross the different threads to make beautiful patterns.

Colorful tapestries were woven in Persia, and later in Europe.

Weaving consists of arranging a group of lengthwise threads in rows, very close together. Crosswise threads are then laced over and under the vertical threads. Ancient weavers strung the lengthwise threads on a frame, and passed the crosswise threads over and under them with a shuttle (similar to a large needle). Until the late 1700's, most people produced their own cloth at home.

– demonstrate how to warp loom (see attached instructions) using yarn

– students warp their looms

– demonstrate basic weaving technique, how to switch yarn colors, how to incorporate natural items

– after students have worked on their weaving for a while, demonstrate how to remove piece from loom, and finish ends

– wrap up/ critique and cleanup

10 June - Cardboard People

Materials:

templates

thin cardboard

pencils

scissors

brads

paint

brushes

water

optional: fabric. safety pins, beads

Process:

1. Explain lesson and discuss proportions.

Here video for some background information. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oTJ43oohD8&feature=related

The kids won't be drawing the figure but its a good opportunity to explain body proportion to them. Classical body proportion is the body is equal to 8 heads. In fashion drawing the body is equal to 10 heads. 

2. Trace template onto cardboard.

3. Cut pieces.

4. Paint face, patterns for clothes, shoes etc.

5. Let pieces dry.

6. Use a hole punch to make holes in our bits and pieces and then poke brads through the holes.

7. Optional: Dress them, with fabric scraps. Just wrap around or snip slits for arms. Pinned them on with safety pins (with or without beads)